The Real Ceremony
by harrietspecter
Summary: *Until Season 9 Airs, this could contain spoilers* So, as you probably know I am a diehard Lenny shipper; and was extremely annoyed at the fact that they planned to eloped. So this is going to be hopefully a one shot, unless ya'll demand more of the newlyweds.


**The Real Ceremony – The Big Bang Theory**

 **Disclaimer:** Using TerribleWaitress' characters, Meryl and Bridgette. I do not own any of the characters, and write here for entertainment purposes only.

12 months ago:

"Oh my god, what a day" Penny announced, as they returned from the set of a job that she was just fired from.

"Can I get you anything?" Leonard asked, trying to be as supportive as possible, for his girlfriend who was going through a rough time.

"No, it's fine. I need to make some smart decisions with my life..."

"Like what?" Leonard asked.

"I don't know… We could get married?" Penny suggested, taking Leonard by surprise. Especially after all the times he had asked her, and it had been met with a resounding 'no'.

"Come on, be serious."

"I am." Penny demanded.

"Why? Because I'm a smart decision?" Leonard asked, slightly offended.

"Well yeah"

"So I'm like a bran muffin?" Leonard said, with a dejected tone.

"What, no. That's not what I'm saying."

"No, that's exactly what your saying. I am the boring thing your choosing because I am good for you..."

"What does it matter? The point is, I am choosing you!" Penny yelled, starting to get annoyed with the way Leonard was talking to her.

"Well, it matters a lot. I don't want to be a bran muffin. I, I want to be a Cinnabon, you know? A strawberry Pop-Tart. Something you're excited about even though it could give you diabetes." Leonard seemed very persistent about the topic to not be her boring choice.

"Sweetie, you can be any pastry you want." Penny insisted, as Leonard became more annoyed. He never thought the one time Penny suggested they get engaged, would turn out like this.

"No, no, no. It's too late. I'm your bran muffin, probably fat-free and good for your colon" Leonard said, as he made his way to the door, thinking about leaving.

"You know what, just forget it. I shouldn't have brought it up." Penny added, deflated, just sick of the trajectory of this conversation.

"Penny, look. You know that I want to marry you, I've wanted to marry you ever since I saw you at the top of the stairs. I couldn't think of spending my life without you… but you're only doing this because you got fired and your feeling sorry for yourself."

"Okay, it may look that way, but getting fired from that movie was the best thing that ever happened to me, okay? I finally realised that I don't need to be famous or have a big career to be happy..." Penny demanded, finally past the point of arguing with her boyfriend.

"What do you need?" Leonard yelled.

"You! You stupid pop-tart!" Penny screamed.

All of the anger built up between the two in the last few weeks, with the movie and everything. Gone.

"Oh" Leonard mumbled, "then I guess I'm in..."

"You guess you're in?"

"Not like I guess I'm in..." Leonard said, mockingly. "Like I guess, I'm in!" Leonard cheered, in a happy voice, almost sarcastic.

"Okay" Penny said.

"Cool" Leonard replied.

"So, is that it? Are we engaged?"

"Yeah, I think so..."

"All right." Leonard said,

"What's wrong" Penny asked?

"I'm not sure… It just seems a little bit anti-climatic"

"Yeah, it kinda does, huh." Penny mumbled, as there was an awkward silence between the two.

"Oh, I know. This might help." Leonard announced, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, opening it and pulling out a yellow gold 14c diamond ring and holding it up in front of Penny.

"Where did you get a ring?" Penny asked, with a surprised look on her face.

"I've had it for a couple of years. Not important." Leonard said. He made his way over, closer to Penny, and bending down to be on one knee. This had been the moment he had been waiting for, for the last 7 years, ever since he saw her in the hallway.

"Penny, will you marry me?"

"Oh my god, yes!"

That was it. They were engaged. Everything Leonard had dreamed of, had just come true with those four words.

"This would have been so much more romantic if you didn't have monkey hair on your finger!" Leonard joked, and pulled Penny towards him.. kissing his fiancé.

* * *

Present:

"Well, tomorrows it. Are you ready to became Mrs Penny Hofstader?" Leonard asked, as they sat at a two person table in some romantic restaurant in Pasadena.

"I can't believe we don't get to spend the night together tonight." Leonard whined, taking a sip from his wine.

"Well, both my parents told me it was tradition, and that the groom couldn't see the bride on the wedding day, so unless you want to sneak over for a quickie later on, then we can't stay together." Penny laughed, making Leonard wonder if she was actually being serious, because he would be seriously into that.

"I'm down for that." He laughed. "I really love that our whole families are here for the ceremony… it really means a lot to me."

"Yeah, when we were thinking about going to Vegas, it seemed like a such easier option, but now that we had the whole ceremony with our families and friends, it just seems more special." Penny said, grabbing Leonard's hand on the table.

"I'm glad that you finally got to meet the rest of my family. I was really surprised that my Dad came to meet you, even if he can't make it to the ceremony. Ever since my Mum and Dad split, I've seen him like twice. They can't even stand to be in the same room as one another."

"Aw, that's almost as sad as when he used your hugging machine!" Penny laughed, trying to lighten the situation for him.

"I am really sorry about how rude both my brother and sister were to you, you can now see why I don't associate myself with my family." Leonard said, after both his brother, Michael and sister, Lydia were extremely rude to Penny earlier today.

"It wasn't that bad, I am just glad I am not a waitress anymore, otherwise that conversation could have been a lot worse."

"That is true." Leonard laughed, "you just can't listen to them. They are all caught in their own perfect worlds. That why I moved out of home, and far away when I was so young."

After they both finished their meals, they were given the option for desert, but both declined.

"I need to be able to fit into my wedding dress" Penny laughed, as the waiter walked away.

It's getting late, we should go back to the rooms." Leonard suggested, as they headed back to the floor where all their wedding guests were staying.

When they reached their separate rooms, the floor was empty, and Leonard recalled something she said earlier. He lent into kiss his soon to be bride, but was pushed back by her.

"Leonard, you know how hard it is going to be to not see you until tomorrow afternoon, but, we need to go to sleep. Unlike you, and your suit, myself and the girls have hours and hours of makeup, hair appointments and dress fittings. So, if it's alright with you, I am going to bed." Penny mumbled, putting a petite kiss on his lips, and entering her apartment.

Leonard walked a few rooms down the hallway, to his room to find Sheldon, Raj, Michael and Howard sitting on his bed, playing Halo 4 on his TV…

"Ahhyyy, it's the man of the weekend!" They all yelled as he walked through the door. When their excitement was met with stoney silence, they knew something wasn't right.

"What's up?"

"Well, for one, All of you are in my room, while my fiancé isn't. And I'm not even allowed to spend the night with her."

"Oh get over it, at least your getting married!" Raj laughed.

"Well, you guys need to get out. Because I am going to bed..." Leonard demanded, turning the playstation off at the wall socket.

"Come on dude! This is mean't to be your bachelor party!" Raj said, suggesting to continue partying.

"What? Me going out to dinner, and you four huddled up on my bed playing the playstation was my bachelor party?"

"Sounds perfect to me, I mean the playstation part, the dinner sounded horrible." Sheldon interrupted.

"No, it was beautiful." Leonard said. "Now leave."

"Why don't you just stay in Penny's room until midnight? Technically that's not breaking the rules. Plus, its only ten minutes past nine o'clock." Michael suggested, as Howard got off the bed to turn the game console back on.

Leonard gave up trying to remove his friends from his bedroom, and just headed back down the hall. He stopped at Penny's room and knocked on the door, just curious as to whether or not she was awake, he planned just to go back to the blackjack table down in the casino if she wasn't. He heard shuffling in the room, and moments later, Penny appeared with a face mask on, her hair wrapped in a towel, and her body covered in stripped winter pyjamas.

"Leonard!" She said, with a smile growing on her face.

"The boys kicked me out of my room, at least until later on, so do you think it would be that bad if I stayed here? Until midnight, anyways."

"Well, if you can stand to be near me when I look like this, then sure!" Penny laughed, posing in her very attractive pyjamas.

"You look as beautiful as always" Leonard said, as Penny opened the door to let him in.

"Now I see why I am marrying you" Penny laughed.

* * *

The two of them sat cuddled up on her bed for almost 2 hours, when Penny checked her phone and realised it was past midnight.

"Leonard, it's past midnight. You should go, only before someone finds you here. I would love you to stay, but my Mums really into tradition, and she would hate to know we spent the night together."

"Yeah, of course beautiful. I understand. By the way, happy wedding day..." Leonard said, as he detached himself from her grasp.

Leonard got up and walked towards the door.

"Leonard, baby. Come here for a sec."

He turned and walked towards Penny. He sat on the bed next to her, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. "Happy Wedding Day". Penny put her hand on his leg.

"You told me earlier, now I'll tell you. Don't start anything, because I don't think I'll be able to control myself, especially in those pyjamas." Leonard laughed, as he connected his lips with hers. As much as she didn't want to reciprocate, it was so hard not to.

"Leonaardd" Penny mumbled, mid-kiss. "You need to leave."

"I should, but I don't have to." Leonard said, pushing Penny back onto the bed and deepening the kiss.

Penny rolled over so she was on top of him.

"No, you have to go." Penny laughed.

"Well Miss-soon-to-be-Mrs-Hofstader, let me remind you that this bogus teenage make out session is not over.

"Oh save it for tomorrow" Penny laughed, as he walked out the door and back to his apartment.

When Leonard returned to his apartment, he found Howard, Michael and Raj all spread out across his double bed. He grabbed the set of room keys, whoever they belonged to, and went to use their hotel room.

* * *

By the time morning came, the boys had searched all the rooms, and finally found Leonard passed out on the top of the blankets in Michael's rooms, and they had pulled him out of the room.

"You sir, are getting married in 5 hours. And I was told to capture you before you tried to sneak in and see Penny."

"I wouldn't do that... go and see Penny that is." Leonard defended.

"Yes, you would." Michael having realised how much he and Penny were in love, just after a day of being with them.

"Look, I may be your younger brother, but I have still been married more times than you."

"That's because you marry crazy whores." Leonard blurted out.

"Hush hush, today is about your love life, not mine."

"Look, Lydia and your friends girlfriends have gone to Penny's room to make sure that she won't come and find you.

"We told each other last night that we wouldn't see each other until the ceremony."

"And you also said you wouldn't see her after midnight, but you did that, so you aren't very good at getting your promises."

"Fine, what do we have to do?"

"Well, we have to be there before the girls, so it gives up a few hours to get ready."

After Leonard was dragged back into his room, where all the suits were, and his best man already getting suited up, he was thrown into the shower with a throbbing headache. About 20 minutes later, he walked out, suited up, with his hair combed over, and his contacts in.

"Well, we are all ready" Howard said, lifting the playstation controller up.

* * *

"Penny, you look gorgeous." Meryl said, tears flowing down her face.

"Leonard's a lucky man" Wyatt said, as he hugged his daughter. Beverly stood in the corner, as she watched her soon-to-be daughter in law put a vale in her hair.

"Yes, I agree. He may lack in brains and successful qualities like my other children, but he seems to have reasonable choice in women." Beverly said, in monotone.

"Unlike his father..." Wyatt mumbled quietly, at Beverly's harsh remark. Wyatt was quite fond of Leonard, and he knew how hard his childhood was.

"Guys stop it, we need to head to the ceremony." Penny demanded.

"Wait!" Meryl yelled, "we need to get photos!"

Penny groaned, as her bridesmaids joined her. Amy, Bernadette and her maid of honour, Bridgette all surrounded her and what felt like hundreds of photos were taken by her Mum, who was endlessly proud of her.

"Now I know that it's good to be fashionably late, but maybe not to your wedding. Leonard may think you got cold feet." Bridgette suggested, basically pushing her out the door.

The limo trip to the ceremony felt it took like hours. Penny wasn't sure if she was having second thoughts, or if she was just nervous. Nerves. Nerves. Nerves. It was just nerves.

The location they both chose for their ceremony was a small pub, with a large grassy area that overlooked a cliff. It was such a beautiful location, just a small drive out of Pasadena.

As the limo pulled up, the entirety of the guests all stood as they watched the three bridesmaids and Penny file out of the car. Penny wore a beautiful vail over her eyes, as a lovely white dress.

Penny searched for Leonard, who was turned facing the other way, with Sheldon standing next to him, and Michael, Howard and Raj standing on the other side. There was a piano on the patio of the pub, that, as Penny reached the flower archway, started to play the classic wedding tune. As Leonard heard this, he turned around. His eyes met his beautiful fiancé, and immediately a smile filled his entire face. There was no words to describe the emotions he felt at that very moment.

Penny stood under the flower archway, as Wyatt met her with a _larger than life_ smile across his face. He linked arms with his daughter, and than began to walk down the aisle. When they reached Leonard, he put out his hands, and took her from Wyatt. As if he had taken responsibility. To make sure that she was safe, forever, no matter what happened.

"Do me proud, son." Wyatt said, as Penny stepped up onto the platform with her fiancé. He took her hands, as the Sheldon stepped up onto the platform, to perform the ceremony. After months of arguing, Penny managed to get Sheldon to perform the ceremony, by only saying on line in Klingon.

"Daq tu' taH Daq yIn tlhej ghajtaH." Sheldon said, as he began the ceremony. Leonard laughed after that line in Klingon, whilst Penny just starred at him, completely unsure of what was said. "Penny and Leonard, I have known both of you for many years, and I've watched your relationship develop, and as painful it had been for me to watch, I am truly happy that it worked out the way it has. I believe you both prepared separate vows?

Leonard was first. Like Penny expected, he had picked a 'sciency' poem, that he believed summed up their relationship...

"If starship travel from our Earth to some farstar and back againat velocities approaching the speedof light made you younger than me due to the relativistic effects of time dilation, I'd show up on your doorstep hoping you'd developed a thing for older men, and I'd ask you to show me everything you learned to pass the time out there in the endless void of night. If we were the sole survivors of a zombie apocalypse and you were bitten and transformed into a walking corpse I wouldn't even pick up my assault shotgun, I'd just let you take a bite out of me, because I'd rather be undead forever with you than alive alone  
without you... Penny, ever since I saw you on the fourth floor, almost nine years ago, I have loved you unconditionally. I wish to spend my life with you, for the next ninety and beyond. You make me the happiest man in the world, and I promise to treasure you love forever."

Penny was next. She was almost in tears from Leonard vows, and almost felt bad, because of how much effort he went to with her vows.

"Leonard, the first movie we ever watched together, was Toy Story, and there was a song in that, that has followed me in this whole relationship, and explains just how I feel about you, because you've got a friend in me, you got troubles and I got 'em too, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, we stick together, we can see it through, 'cause you've got a friend in me, you've got a friend in me. Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am, bigger and stronger too, maybe, but none of them, will ever love you the way I do, it's me and you boy..."

After the vows, Sheldon continued with the ceremony.

"At the request of the bride and groom, I'll keep my remarks short and not technical. Well, as you all know, the four fundamental forces of physics: electromagnetism, strong nuclear interaction, weak nuclear interaction, and gravity. We've been talking here about the forces that bind the universe. But what binds humans? Love. Powerful in small spaces, yet with profound effect on distance. Love defies time, outliving both its source, and its object. Love is faster than light, for light requires time in order to travel through space. But love reaches its object instantaneously. Love journeys forever, into infinity. And it's here, binding together two lives. Can we have the rings? Symbolic of eternity, and rendered in a beautiful element."

Michael turned and placed the pillow with both rings in between Penny and Leonard.

"Penny, do you take Leonard to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Sheldon asked.

"I do." Penny said, putting the ring on Leonard's finger.

"Leonard, do you take Penny to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Sheldon repeated.

"I do." Leonard smiled, taking Penny's hand and putting her ring on her finger.

"SoH DaH pronounce jIH loDnal be'nal je"

"Sheldon!" Penny yelled.

"Sorry... I now pronounce you husband and wife." Sheldon said, as every in the audience cheered. "Kiss her if you want, I don't care."

Leonard stepped in towards Penny and lifted her vail off her face. He gave her a big smile, and then passionately connected his lips with hers. This had been a moment he had been waiting for, for longer than he could even remember.

He had finally married the girl of his dreams... Mrs. Penny Hofstadter.

 **A/N - So this story/one shot came out of my built up frustration because of the way the writers handled the wedding and the OC cheating on Leonard's behalf, and this was actually really fun to write. I hope you enjoyed, and please review. Thanks in advance guys!**


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